


Just Another Day On Atlantis

by LoveStoryFanatic



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Reality, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Intense, Minor Character Death, Parents & Children, Romance, Suspense, Violence, Wraith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-01
Updated: 2013-07-02
Packaged: 2017-12-16 17:37:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/864762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveStoryFanatic/pseuds/LoveStoryFanatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a spin-off of my story Triple Threat. Series of One-shots related to Triple Threat and things that happen on their journey. They do not happen in any kind of order, especially not chronological. Also, some details have been changed from Triple Threat such as minor names, but nothing to worry about. Just stories about what can happen when you live and raise a family in the Pegasus Galaxy of all places.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 6 Years Later

John Sheppard sat in his chair behind his desk. He had just finished all his paperwork and was deciding on what to do next. He looked up at the picture he kept on his desk of his beautiful children and his wife.

He still couldn’t believe that the twins were just about to turn six. It seemed like just yesterday they were still in diapers and crawling all over the city. John and his wife Nikki did the best they could to raise two kids in the Pegasus galaxy. It wasn’t always easy.

There were times when he would go off-world with his team and come back injured. There was always the risk that he may never come back and leave his family alone. He hated to think of that possibility. It was a risk he had to take as Commanding Military Officer of Atlantis.

Nikki was in charge of the Science and Research Department, along with Rodney. Ever since Radek had died in an explosion a couple of years back, Elizabeth wanted both to be in charge. It had taken a toll on the city when the scientist had died. He was one of the few who could handle McKay. It took some time, but the city recuperated from the loss.

Not only was Nikki one of the heads of the SRD, she was also a medical doctor and would go on off-world missions from time to time to help the sick on other worlds. She could also kick your ass if you pissed her off enough.

John had fallen in love with her shortly after meeting her. They had only known each other for a few months before they started dating. Their relationship took off real quick when they had found out they were going to be the proud parents of twins.

They had become parents, gotten married, and overcame quite a few obstacles in their path over the years. There had been a lot of good times as well. His second in command, Major Evan Lorne, had asked his permission to marry John’s sister-in-law, Kira, about four years ago. They had a couple kids of their own now as well.

Teyla and Kanaan had decided to marry after their second child was born. Torren had been thrilled to have a sibling. Ronon and Amelia were engaged, finally. He’d been trying to ask her for the past two years. Every time he would go to ask her, there was some new crisis and he’d have to jump into action.

Rodney and Keller had broken their relationship off about a year after it started. Jennifer had left Rodney to go back to Earth after an argument they had had. Everyone thought she would come back or that he would go after her. Neither happened and they never say her again.

He was with a scientist now. They were going strong. Rodney had even confided in John that he had bought a ring on his last trip to Earth. He was planning to propose to her soon.

John sighed as he thought about everything that had happened to the city in the past six years. They had finally defeated the Wraith, only to come across a new enemy that kept them on their toes. There were a lot of children running around Atlantis now and many new couples. They had finally filled their city. Atlantis was going strong.

He was finally close to his brother, Dave again. He and his family lived in this city as well. They carried the gene and the kids actually worked in the labs among the scientists. They were adults now and were getting paid by the military.

John and Evan spent a lot of their free time together. They were brothers-in-law now and that had brought them even closer than before. Before he met Nikki, he thought he had had a family on Atlantis. What he had now was nothing compared to what he had then.

He was a married man now with two beautiful children and they were actually thinking about having more. His sister-in-law was married to a good man and damn fine soldier. They had kids of their own. Everyone in their little family either had families of their own now or were starting one soon. Their family was expanding and with it, they grew closer than before.

Even Elizabeth had started to see someone in her free time.

John smiled at all the memories he had obtained in the years. He stood from his desk and left his office. He was going to see if there was anything new in the control room. He walked up the stairs and saw Nikki coming down with the twins: Aiden and Mariah. He smiled at his family.

Nikki looked up and relief came across her face. “Thank god. Can you take them for a while? I have some things I need to get done or else Elizabeth will have my head.”

His smile grew and he nodded. “Of course, I’ll take the munchkins for a while. They can follow me around on my rounds.” He looked down at the twins and gave them a big bear hug. “So what do you guys say to spending some good ole quality time with your old man?”

They giggled and nodded. Mariah squealed. “We get to spend time with Daddy!!”

“That’s right! Now come on, munchkins, let’s go up to the control room.” He kissed Nikki quickly before she continued down the stairs and headed for her lab.

They made it into the control room, John in the lead and the two trailing slightly behind him. Chuck looked up at the CMO and smiled. It wasn’t the first time that he would walk in there with the twins following him. “Hey, Chuck! Anything new?”

Chuck looked down at his laptop briefly before looking back up at him. “Nope. It’s been pretty quiet around here lately.” John smiled. “Yeah, and let’s hope it stays that way.” Suddenly the gate activated. Chuck’s brow furrowed and he looked back down at his laptop.

“None of the teams that are out are due back for hours, sir.” John nodded and looked down at the twins. “Go play in Elizabeth’s office, okay?” They nodded and ran into her office. She kept a small stash of toys for this exact situation. Every time the gate activated while the twins were in the gate room of control room, whoever was accompanying them would send them into Elizabeth’s office just as a safety precaution. They did that with all the kids just to be on the safe side.

“Has an idc come through yet?” Chuck watched his screen and waited for one to come through. Suddenly one did. “It’s Lt. Cooper from SGA-6, sir.” John nodded. “Okay, lower the shield. When were they due back?” Chuck brought up his schedule for the teams. “Not for another day, sir.”

John stepped onto the balcony and watched a puddle jumper emerge through the gate. He didn’t catch a good glimpse of everyone in side, but watched as it rose into the jumper bay. He hit his com. “Lt. Cooper, this is Colonel Sheppard. Please come in.”

Static came across the radio as the gate deactivated and John turned to Chuck confused. “Lt. Cooper. I repeat, this is Colonel Sheppard, please respond.”

There was still nothing. John hit his com again. “Major Lorne, this is Sheppard. Please report to the control room immediately. We may have a situation on our hands. Grab your team and mine, to be on the safe side. Sheppard out.” He had a real bad feeling as to why Cooper wasn’t answering.

He was about to move towards the stairs that led to the jumper bay when suddenly there were men running down the stairs holding guns. John reached for his side-arm and raised it at them. He glanced at Elizabeth’s office. The twins were playing in the middle of the room and in clear sight of the men if they turned around.

Aiden heard the commotion outside the office and looked up. His father was pointing his gun at some men and he looked worried. He looked over at the boy and his sister. He nodded his head once and Aiden knew what that meant. His father had told him several times that if something like this happened where there were strange people and he had his gun out, to protect his sister and either run or hide. In this case, he grabbed Mariah’s hand and pulled her behind Elizabeth’s desk and out of view of the men.

John sighed inwardly. His children were out of view and safe for the moment. He put his attention back on the strangers. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

One of them stepped forward, presumably the leader. “My name is Arbah. And, well, we’re here to take over the city. So either drop the gun, or the pretty lady over there will get a bullet to the head.” John set his gun on the ground slowly and stepped back.

“Why do you want the city?” Arbah simply laughed and took in his surroundings. “This is the city of the Ancestors. Who wouldn’t want this city?” John narrowed his eyes at the man and watched as his men filled the control room and took over. He looked towards the stairs and saw the top of Evan’s head as he was walking up the stairs. He hadn’t realized what was going on yet.

“Well you’re not getting the city, so you can forget about it!” He shouted it at Arbah to make sure that Lorne heard him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evan freeze and turn to look into the control room.

Evan saw that Arbah had a gun pointed at Sheppard and there were several men around the room, taking over. His eyes locked with Sheppard’s for a second. In that brief connection, he understood what was happening. Evan nodded and moved down the stairs, bringing both teams with him.

They moved swiftly and silently out of the area and evacuated anyone they could find. Lorne looked at Rodney who had his data pad out. “Can you connect me to everyone on Atlantis who had a head set without alerting anyone in the control room?” Rodney nodded tapping away at the pad. “Just give me a second.” When he looked up and nodded at the man, Lorne reached up and hit his com.

“Attention Atlantis, this is Major Lorne. The city is being taken over. No one is to go anywhere near the control room. Don’t panic, we’ll have this resolved as quickly as possible. I want all military personnel to meet in the mess hall where we will be setting up a base of command. All civilians, scientists, and doctors are to move to the outer parts of the city and stay indoors until we have the situation under control. It is vital that you stay calm and follow these orders. We will let you know when everything is safe once again. Thank you, Lorne out.”

Nikki’s head snapped up when Evan said not to go near the control room. That’s where John and the twins were. Panic soared through her veins as she rushed towards the mess hall to find out what was going on. By the time Lorne, his team, and the rest of SGA-1 reached the mess hall, most of the military personnel were there along with Kira and Nikki.

When Evan walked in, they rushed over to him. Nikki was trying not to panic, but her babies were up there! “Evan, what is going on?” “The Colonel radioed me telling me to get both of our teams and come to the control room. He said we may have a situation on our hands. When we got there, the control room had been taken over by some men I’ve never seen before. One man, I’m guessing the leader, had a gun pointed at John, but he didn’t look too worried about that. He saw me, so he knows we know what’s going on.”

Nikki nodded. “Did you see the twins?” Evan had started towards the center of the room and spun around at her words. “The twins are up there?” Nikki nodded. “Right before John went up there, we met on the stairs and he took them with him. He said he’ll bring them with him on his rounds.” Evan thought for a moment. “They may be in Dr. Weir’s office. I’m guessing the gate activated and Sheppard sent them in there like usual. We’ll get them out.” Nikki nodded.

“I’m going to help, Major. And don’t tell me I can’t. My husband and my children are up there, so there’s no way in hell I’m  just going to walk away.” Evan nodded. He turned to face the mess hall. “Okay, listen up. The control room has been taken over. There were at least four of our people up there, including Colonel Sheppard. Make that six. Aiden and Mariah are up there as well. I counted at least ten unknowns. One had a gun on the Colonel. Here’s the plan…”

**SGA**

John looked at Arbah. He seemed to be getting bored with the control room. It wouldn’t be long before he had his men venture farther into the city.

“Maybe we could make a deal. Give you something in return for you leaving the city alone. We’ll let you go safely. No one would get hurt and we’ll never speak of this again, nor see each other again.”

Arbah looked rather amused by the offer. “Actually, I lied. I don’t want the city really. I want…” He trailed off when he heard something behind him. He turned around and saw a little girl run behind the desk in what appeared to be an office. He turned back to face John. “You let children be near your command center? How brave of you.” The man looked at his men. He pointed to two of them. “You two, go fetch me that child. I want to see her.”

John’s eyes widened. He stepped in front of them, blocking their way to the office. “No, you don’t want her. She’s just a child. Leave her alone.”

Arbah’s face lit up a little. “Quite protective, are we? Go. Now. I want her.” The men tried to get past Sheppard, but he struggled against them. He was going to put up a fight for his children.

A single shot rang through the air and John immediately felt the pain. Blood trickled down his arm and he looked down. Arbah had shot him in the left arm. “That’s just a warning. You don’t stop and the next shot will be in the little girl.”

John immediately stopped struggling. He watched as then men walked into the office and then around the desk. Their eyes widened as they saw that there were two children instead of just the one. Each man grabbed a child and Arbah’s face glowed when he saw the little boy. “Even better! There are two!” Everyone’s attention was on the children and then men who were bringing them towards Arbah. No one was paying attention to Chuck or the others who had been pushed to the back of the room. Chuck reached over and slid a data pad over to them. They hid it from the men’s view. Quickly, Chuck tapped a few keys and pressed a final button. He made it so that as long as the data pad was functioning and the program was running, everything that was being said in the control room would be fed through Rodney’s data pad that he took with him everywhere.

They now had a significant advantage over there men. Chuck hid the pad out of sight away from them and made sure every sound could be heard from it.

John watched in horror has Aiden and Mariah were brought into the control room. Aiden looked up at his dad. There was blood running down his arm, but he looked fine other than that.

Arbah looked down at the kids. “What are your names?”

 Aiden just narrowed his eyes at the man and stood there. Mariah stood behind her brother, scared. John felt a sense of pride for his son. That was a Sheppard thing. Stubborn until the end.

Arbah frowned and looked up at John. He noticed how the man’s tension had increased when the children had been discovered. He decided to go out on a whim.

“I never caught your name.” John’s eyes locked with his. “Colonel John Sheppard.” “Well, John, I’m going to assume these are your kids?” John’s eyes narrowed at the man.

“I take that as a yes.” “If you so much as touch a hair on them, you’ll wish you never heard of Atlantis. I can promise you that.”

Arbah smiled. “Oh really?” He reached up a hand and slapped the little boy. Not too hard, but not too soft either. John shot forward only to be brought up short by the gun. “Uh uh uh, John. You know what happened last time you tried to protect them. The blood running down your arm is proof enough. I would hate to use that bullet I mentioned on this sweet innocent girl of yours.”

John swore. “Let them go! They have nothing to do with this! They’re just innocent children!”

**SGA**

When voices had started to come out of McKay’s data pad in the middle of Lorne’s plan, he had froze. Everyone turned to look at him. Some strange man’s voice had come through it and then silence.

Lorne raised an eyebrow. “McKay? What was that?” Rodney typed a few things and then looked back up. “It looks like someone in the control room found a way to patch communications through a data pad on their end and feed it through mine. We can hear everything going on in there now.”

The man’s voice came over the pad again. “I never caught your name.” “Colonel John Sheppard.” Everyone froze again. They were listening to a conversation between their commanding officer and the man who was trying to take over the city.

“Well, John, I’m going to assume these are your kids?” Nikki’s eyes widened and she looked at Lorne. “We need to get in there. Now.”

Lorne nodded and finished with his plan while the pad was silent. As soon as Lorne finished and was about to send the teams on their way, the voices were talking again.

“I take that as a yes.” “If you so much as touch a hair on them, you’ll wish you never heard of Atlantis. I can promise you that.” “Oh really?”

Nikki was starting to panic. She didn’t like the way the man sounded. They heard what sounded like a slap and then movement before it stopped. It seemed like everyone was holding their breath to hear what happened next.

. “Uh uh uh, John. You know what happened last time you tried to protect them. The blood running down your arm is proof enough. I would hate to use that bullet I mentioned on this sweet innocent girl of yours.” “Let them go! They have nothing to do with this! They’re just innocent children!”

Nikki and Kira exchanged looks. So now they knew that John had been injured trying to protect the children. “Evan, we need to get in there.” He gestured for everyone to get to their positions. He was taking SGA-1 along with Nikki to the weapon’s room to get more weapons. He had put Kira in charge of his team and sent them on their way.

Rodney kept his data pad with him so they could still hear what was going on. They had heard Arbah start laughing when John had told him to let them go. The laugh had sent shivers down Nikki’s spine.

“I’m guessing you’re an important person to this city?” Silence as they all listened to the conversation more intently as they made their way to the weapons room. “Then they may be innocent, but they’re the children of an important man to this city. You think I’m going to let two of the best bargaining chips ever just walk away?” “Fine. Then whatever you’re planning on doing, take me instead. I’m more important than two little kids. I’m a better bargaining chip then they are. Let them go back into that room and take me instead.”

Evan looked at the team. They were growing more antsy. They wanted to save both their friend, and the children they loved.

There was silence over the com line for a while as they reached the weapons room and loaded up. They were just about to walk out the door when Arbah’s voice came over the line.

“You have a point, John. These are just two little kids. Worthless really. You, take him prisoner. Dispose of those two. Let’s go.” “No! Don’t hurt them!” They heard struggling and they started running towards the control room. Rodney turned down the volume as they got closer. Evan hit his com and radioed for the teams surrounded the control room to stand by.

**SGA**

“You have a point, John. These are just two little kids. Worthless really. You, take him prisoner. Dispose of those two. Let’s go.” “No! Don’t hurt them!” John lunged forward and managed to position himself between the kids and then men, including Arbah.

Arbah sighed. “You see, I warned you, John. It’s too bad. You would have made an excellent bargaining chip. I guess I’ll just have to settle for the little boy and those others in the corner.”

He raised his gun and pointed it at Sheppard. Sheppard made sure both children were securely behind him and wouldn’t be in danger of being shot. At least not until he went down.

As soon as Arbah pulled the trigger, Lorne made the signal and all teams emerged from their locations. Two teams were running up the stairs from the gate room, one team was coming through the door on the other side of the control room, and Lorne and SGA-1 were coming up the stairs. Lorne was shouting for them to lower their guns.

The bullet had already left Arbah’s gun before the teams had moved in. It made its impact in John’s abdomen. Another shot landed right next to John’s heart, barely missing it. Both were serious hits though and he went down.

Aiden looked at his dad and was instantly worried. He looked up at what was going on in the control room. The teams were securing the men and Uncle Evan was standing in front of the man who had shot his dad. He spotted more familiar people. “Mom! Aunt Teyla! Dad’s hurt!”

Nikki whipped around when she heard his voice. She had been searching the room for them. Her eyes landed on John’s still form lying on the ground next to the twins. They seemed unharmed, but he had three bullet holes in him and was either unconscious or dead.

She jumped into action and ran over to them. She felt for a pulse and found a weak one. She started to apply pressure to where he’d been shot near his heart. Nikki looked up and called Teyla over. “Teyla! I need you to keep pressure where he got hit in the abdomen.” She looked up and saw Lorne moving towards them, worried. “Call a med team. He needs surgery now or he won’t make it.” She had kicked herself into doctor mode, not letting herself freak out by the fact that her husband was lying unconscious underneath her hands where he’d been shot three times protecting their children.

She couldn’t let herself freak out. If she did, he could die. And like hell she was letting that happen.

Nikki focused her eyes on John’s face. It was pale from the blood loss. She looked up at the twins. “Are you two okay?” Aiden nodded, but kept his eyes glued to his dad’s face. He was only six, but he wasn’t stupid. His dad had been shot to protect them and now he was dying. Mariah was quietly crying, holding onto her brother’s arm.

The medical team arrived a couple of minutes later with Dr. Beckett. He took one look at the situation and immediately jumped into action as Nikki had done.  He started shouting orders to get John onto the gurney and to be extremely careful. “Don’t let up on that pressure, either!”

They finally got John settled on the gurney and they made their way down to the infirmary. They immediately took him into surgery. As soon as they got into position, Dr. Beckett asked Nikki and Teyla to back away. They left the surgery room and waited in the waiting room with the rest of the team and several others.

Ronon, Amelia, Evan, Kira, Dave, Becca, McKay, and the twins were waiting in the waiting room for them.

Nikki walked over to the twins and knelt down in front of them. She wrapped her arms around them and pulled them into a hug. She closed her eyes and focused on the fact that her children were safe in her arms.

She opened her eyes and pulled away slightly. “Is Daddy going to be okay, Mommy?” Nikki looked into Mariah’s eyes and smiled. “Uncle Carson is doing his best to make sure he will be, okay? Don’t you worry.” She looked at Aiden and frowned. He had been pretty strong through the entire ordeal, but was about to break down. He was only six, after all.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Aiden sniffled and looked down at his feet. “It’s all my fault.” Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean, Aiden?” He sniffled again and then looked up at her. “Daddy gave me the signal to protect Mariah, so I pulled her behind the desk. She pulled away from me to go back for her toys and I didn’t stop her. That’s how they found out we were there. It’s my fault. If they hadn’t found out about us, Daddy would be okay.”

Nikk put her hands on the little boy’s shoulders. “You listen to me, Aiden, your Dad asked you to protect your sister and that’s what you did. It’s not your fault they saw her. It was Daddy’s job to make sure nothing bad happened to either of you and he did. You’re both safe and you’re both okay. No matter what happens to your Dad, nothing is your fault. You did exactly what you were supposed to, okay?”

There were tears running down his face, but he nodded. She pulled him in for another hug and looked at Mariah. She was crying again. Becca got up from her spot next to Dave and knelt down in front of Mariah. She figured Nikki had enough on her hands with Aiden and trying not to freak out in front of the kids.

Becca smiled at Mariah. “Hey there, sweetie. Are you okay?” Mariah shook her head. “Daddy’s dead.” Becca shook her head. “No, he’s not. Daddy’s alive, he’s just in surgery right now. Uncle Carson is helping him get better.” Becca looked at Nikki. “I can take them to the mess hall for a while if you want. Get them away from all of this.” Nikki nodded. She pulled away from Aiden. “You’re going to go with your sister and Aunt Becca. Be good and I’ll come for you as soon as I can, okay?” He nodded and she kissed the top of his head. “I love you, baby.” “Love you too, Mom.”

Nikki pulled Mariah in for a quick hug. “I love you, Mariah.” “I love you too, Mommy.” Nikki stood and watched as Becca left with the kids. She was thankful for the suggestion. She didn’t want them around here when Carson came out. Especially if it was bad news.

Nikki took a seat next to Kira and put her head in her hands. Her strength was wearing off and she was starting to freak out. Kira put her hand on her back and was rubbing in circles, just like she had seen John do a thousand times. It always calmed Nikki down and she was hoping it would now as well.

Nikki leaned into her sister and let some tears fall. She was finally able to let everything sink in that had happened. Everyone stayed remotely silent for the next few hours as they waited for the news.

Every now and then one of them would get up and pace for a few minutes and then sit back down. They would exchange a couple of words about Carson hurrying up or wondering how much longer it would be for news.

Teyla had asked Evan what had happened with the men. “I had my men take them to the brig and secure them. I told them not to talk to them and to have it heavy guarded at all times until Dr. Weir returns and the Colonel is okay.”

Rodney snorted. “I bet Elizabeth will be glad she was back on Earth for this crisis.” They kind of chuckled, nodding their agreement. Elizabeth had gone back to Earth for a few days for some routine meetings with the IOA. She was due back in two days.

They sat there a while longer before Dr. Beckett finally walked out into the waiting room. Nikki jumped up when he entered and moved to stand in front of him, eager to see what was going on.

“Carson! Will he be okay?” Carson looked tired. It had been a long surgery, but he didn’t look sad, so there was hope. “He’s definitely not out of the woods yet. In fact, I’m still declaring him in critical condition due to the fact that one of the bullets was mere centimeters away from hitting the Colonel’s heart. He lost a significant amount of blood and we’ve given him transfusions to compensate. Knowing the Colonel, I’d say he’ll pull through, but at this point, anything could happen. The next twenty-four hours are crucial to his survival. If he pulls through the next day, I am confident to say he’ll have much higher odds. By my best guess, it’ll be at least a couple of days before he regains consciousness if he survives.”

Nikki released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. The worrying wasn’t over yet, but he had survived surgery. That was a small miracle itself. “When can I see him?”

“They’re about to bring him out of surgery, so I’d say give it ten minutes.” Nikki nodded and gave him a small smile. It was all she could muster. “Thank you, Carson.” He returned the smile and nodded. “I only wish I could more.” Nikki rubbed her face with her hand and sighed.

She turned towards he friends as Carson left to go get cleaned up and maybe catch a little sleep while the Colonel was stable.

They were all relieved that John had pulled through so far. They decided to all go back to their quarters for the night and leave Nikki alone with John when she was able to go see him.

Before leaving, Dave looked at Nikki. “I’ll have the twins stay in our quarters tonight. Don’t worry about them. Keep me updated on John.” She smiled her appreciation and moved into the infirmary.

John was lying motionless on one of the beds and was hooked up to several machines. He was still pale, but not as much as he had been. His heart beat was steady, which reassured her. She pulled a chair up next to his bed and folded her hand into his. She needed his touch right now and she could settle for just holding his hand.

Pretty soon she fell asleep there, still worrying about her husband.

**SGA**

The gate activated and Chuck called to Teyla that they received the SGC’s idc. “Lower the shield.”

She walked down to the gate room and greeted Dr. Weir and Nikki’s brother Alex. He had gone back to Earth on a personal matter. Immediately Elizabeth felt the tension.

“Teyla, did something happen while we were gone?” Teyla sighed, knowing it was time to let Elizabeth worry some more.

“I think the three of us should talk in your office, Elizabeth.” Instantly, Dr. Weir and Alex were worried. She nodded and they walked up to her office. She sat down behind her desk and Alex and Teyla sat down in the chairs.

Teyla recounted to the two of them everything that had happened while they were gone. She told them about the men getting into Atlantis, Chuck rigging the communications to go through Rodney’s pad, John protecting the twins, and then how John had been shot and had almost died.

Elizabeth’s eyes widened, as did Alex’s. “What?! Is John okay?” Teyla gave her a smile. “He is fine. It was critical for a while, but he pulled through just fine and woke up a few hours ago. Dr. Beckett said he’ll make a full recovery.”

Elizabeth sighed relieved and sat back in her chair. She sure was glad she’d been gone the past few days.

**SGA**

John was sitting in the infirmary with Mariah asleep on his lap and Aiden just about to nod off against his arm. He smiled at the sight of his children alive, safe, and in his arms. Nikki smiled as well at the scene before her. “You know, I think we should limit their time in the control room.” John looked up and nodded. “I agree. At least until their old enough to fire a gun.” Nikki rolled her eyes and smiled again.

“You better not do that again, John Sheppard.” His brow furrowed in confusion. “Do what?” “Almost die on us like that, that’s what.” He looked down at the twins and was silent for a moment.

“I couldn’t let anything happen to them. No matter what happened to me. I don’t know what I’d do without them…” Nikki rested her hand on John’s forearm and smiled at him. “I know, John. And you saved them. You’re the reason why they’re still alive. And I love you even more for that.” He looked up at her and smiled. “You know I’d do the same for you. What would happen if I took a bullet for you too?”

She got up and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’d be very grateful for that. You know, pissed, but still grateful.” His smile widened and he cocked his head to the side and gave her his flyboy smile. “You couldn’t be mad at the man who saved your life, now could you?” She rolled her eyes at him. “We’ll just see what happens if the situation ever comes up.”

“Sounds like a plan. But I have an idea of what we could do now.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“So do I, but we’re in the infirmary with two sleeping children between us.” His face was practically glowing. He reached his free hand up and cupped the back of her neck with it. He gently pulled her face down to right in front of his. “That can wait for later. Unfortunately. What I had in mind was more…pg.” He pulled her face down all the way until their lips met. They stayed that way for a while. Just relishing in the contact of the other and soaking up the intimacy they would have to save for later. They were all alive, safe, and happy. It was just another day on Atlantis.


	2. Revenge Can Be Deadly

Things were slow on Atlantis. The twins were just starting to talk and that was pretty much the only action anyone was seeing.

Tensions were starting to run a little high from everyone being so bored and wanting something to do. There had been no new finds or projects to work on for the scientists. They were in the middle of searching the database for more worlds to explore. In the meantime, they were just going on routine check-ups on the worlds they had already explored and knew weren’t dangerous.

People were starting to grow closer to the edge by the day it seemed. John was waiting for the whole city to just snap and chaos to be unleashed. He could practically feel something bad coming on.

John was sitting in the mess hall with his team, Nikki, and the twins. He was feeding Joey his lunch while Nikki was giving Kylie hers. Every couple of minutes, John would look up and look around the mess hall. Ronon watched every time he did it. He could practically feel his friend’s nerves.

“Shep, what’s wrong?” John’s head snapped in Ronon’s direction. He had said it low enough so that the rest of the table couldn’t hear over their own conversation. “I just have this feeling that something’s about to happen.”

Ronon nodded and looked around the mess hall as well. Sheppard’s com activated. “Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne. Please respond.”

He reached up and hit his com. “This is Sheppard.” Ronon looked over at him and watched to see his reaction to know whether it was a good or bad call.

“Colonel, we have…um, we have a situation down in front of your brother’s quarters. You may want to get down here.” John sat up straighter set down the bottle that Joey had just finished. “What kind of situation?”

“Well, sir…I’m not quite sure how to explain, but you need to get down here. Dave’s had a few too many to drink, I’m assuming, and isn’t in a very happy mood.”

“To drink? It’s noon! I’ll be there as soon as I can. Try to keep him under control until I get there. Sheppard out.”

He quickly stood up and looked at Teyla. “Teyla, I need you to take Joey for me.” She nodded and he passed her the child. He looked at Ronon. “You’re with me. We need to move fast. It’s Dave.” He didn’t have time to say anything else before he was running out of the mess hall with Ronon hot on his heels. Everyone at the table just sat there, watching them leave with confusion and worry written all over their faces.

They ran through the corridors until they found a transporter. John hit the location closest to Dave’s quarters. When the doors opened again, they ran the rest of the distance. They rounded the corner and found Dave waving a knife through the air, drunker than John’s ever seen him.

Dave was waving the knife towards Lorne who was propped up in the corner at the end of the hallway unconscious. Dave was yelling at Lorne. “You bastard! You have absolutely no respect or integrity, do you?” Ronon raised an eyebrow at John, but he shrugged. John moved a little closer to his brother, but out of the way of the knife.

“Dave? What’s going on here?” Dave whipped around and his eyes tried to focus on his brother. “You! I was hoping you’d show up.” John glanced at Lorne real quick before focusing on Dave. “Dave, what’s going on?”

He smiled and staggered towards John a little. “I was just teaching this good-for-nothing asshole the real definition of family. It seems he doesn’t know the word.”

John’s brow furrowed and he took a step towards Dave. “What do you mean by that?” Dave laughed and swung around to face Evan. Before John knew it, he had closed the distance between them and held the knife against Evan’s throat. He pressed it just hard enough that a trickle of blood escaped his skin and ran down his throat.

“He thinks you’re his family. But he’s wrong, isn’t that right, John?” John took another small step towards Dave. “Dave, he is part of my family. Now put the knife down and we can talk about this civilly.” Dave’s face contorted and he pressed harder on the knife, causing another trickle of blood to run down his neck. “No! He’s not your family! I’m your family, damn it!” “Yes, Dave, you are my family. You’re my brother. Now you need to listen to your brother, okay?”

Dave shook his head. “No. Not until he understands that you’re not his family.” Another small step.

“Dave, he’s unconscious. He can’t understand right now. How about we all calm down and talk about this when he wakes up?” Dave started to shake his head again. “No! He will pay!”

John heard voices coming their way and tried not to panic. He didn’t want more people around, afraid it might spook Dave. He looked at Ronon. “Keep whoever it is back.” Ronon nodded and moved around the corner to see who was coming.

It was Becca and Nikki with the twins. Right as Ronon rounded the corner, they were just about to do the same. Ronon looked down at them and then glanced back around the corner. His eyes met Nikki’s. “You can’t go that way. It’s not safe.”

Becca’s brow furrowed. “Not safe? But my quarters are around the corner.” Ronon nodded. “Yep. But Sheppard said to keep everyone back.” Nikki now understood that whatever situation John had been called away to take care of was going down just around the corner. She nodded at Ronon. “Okay, just tell me that he’s okay and we’ll go.” Ronon nodded. “Shep’s fine. But I need to get back there to help him.” Nikki nodded. “Come on, Becca, we need to let them handle whatever is going on. Let’s go back to my quarters for a while.” Becca nodded reluctantly and followed Nikki down the hallway towards her and John’s quarters. As soon as they were out of sight, Ronon walked back around the corner to help John.

“Dave, let’s just take it easy.” “No! Not until you both understand that you’re my family. My family.” John nodded and took another small step. “Okay, Dave. I’m your family. I understand.”

Dave nodded, but didn’t lower the knife. “Good. Now he has to.”

He raised the knife and was bringing it down towards Lorne’s chest, but John slammed into him and rammed him into the wall. The knife had already landed, but, thanks to John, it lodged into Evan’s stomach instead of his chest. “Ronon! Grab Dave.” Ronon shot forward and took Dave from John. He pinned him against the wall so he couldn’t move out of his grasp.

John knelt down by Evan and hit his com. “This is Colonel Sheppard. I need a med team in front of Dave Sheppard’s quarters. NOW!” He quickly pulled the knife out of his stomach and pulled him so that he was laying on his back instead of leaning awkwardly against the wall.

He applied pressure to the wound with one hand and was checking for a pulse with the other. He felt one, though it was growing weaker. John looked up at Dave and narrowed his eyes. “He’s dying, Dave. What the hell has gotten into you!?”

He was still too drunk to really realize what was going on. He was struggling against Ronon, trying to get free.

John shook his head and looked back down at his friend. His face was getting more pale by the minute due to the blood loss. “Come on, Evan!” Evan’s eyes slowly opened. They were only half-open, but he was conscious.

John was paying more attention to the wound as his eyes opened, so he hadn’t realized he had regained consciousness until he spoke. “John? What happened?” John’s head snapped up and his eyes locked with Lorne’s. “Here there, buddy. There was an accident, but you’re going to be okay. There’s a med team on its way.” Lorne nodded.

He looked up and saw Ronon restraining Dave and he remembered fighting with him. “He attacked me. Took me by surprise with that last hit.”

John nodded. “I know, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay now. You just need to hang in there for me.”

Lorne looked back at John. “If I don’t…if I…” John shook his head. “No, nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re going to be fine.”

Evan shook his head. “Just hear me out, John. Tell Kira I love her. Just in case.” “You can tell her yourself, Evan, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

Ronon was watching as Evan was losing a lot of blood and with it his strength. He didn’t think he had very much longer.

John didn’t dare loosen up on the pressure on the wound. He couldn’t let his friend bleed to death.  “John…take care of her for me.” He knew that he meant both the city and Kira. John shook his head. “You can do that yourself. Come on, you have to keep fighting. Don’t you dare give up now.”

Lorne smiled slightly. “Not giving up. Just…losing strength.” John nodded. He looked down the hallway. “Where the hell is that med team?!” He looked back down at Evan. “Think about Kira. Think about everything you’d be leaving behind if you gave up now. You have a family here, damn it. You cannot leave us, you hear me?”

Evan didn’t answer. His eyes were slowly closing. “No. Lorne! Open your eyes, damn it. Keep fighting.” His eyes closed and his body went still. John felt for a pulse and found that it was slowing down significantly. And then it stopped. “No! Damn it, Evan! Don’t do this!”

“Ronon, I need your help! Keep pressure on this while I start compressions.”

Ronon let go of Dave. As soon as he let go of him, he passed out. Ronon didn’t bother catching him. He went immediately to Lorne’s side and took over applying pressure to the wound.

John moved forward and started chest compressions to get his heart beating again. After a minute, Evan stopped breathing and John had to administer full-on CPR.

He gave Evan CPR for a few minutes before the med team finally showed up. Beckett worked his way around the men. He brought the defibrillator and set it up as John continued the CPR.

“Okay, Colonel, I need you to rip open his shirt for me.” John did as he was told. “Ronon, you can release pressure now.” Ronon backed away from the group so that he was out of the way and watched the scene unfold. Then he had a thought as he watched what was happening. He stepped a little farther away so the group wouldn’t hear him. He reached up and hit his com. “Nikki, this is Ronon. We’re about to be heading to the infirmary any minute with injured. You might want to get there without the twins. Shep will need the support.”

Nikki’s voice came over his com. “He isn’t hurt, is he?” Ronon paused. “No, he’s fine. But you might want to tell Kira to meet you there. Ronon out.”

He stepped back towards the group and watched as Beckett repeatedly used the defibrillator on Evan. He watched John’s face to see how he was doing.

John couldn’t hide his emotions behind a wall like he usually could. He was covered in Evan’s blood and was watching as he died. Carson was having trouble getting his heart beating again. John didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t lose Evan. Evan was his second in command, his second brother, and one of his best friends. They were family.

Hell, Evan had delivered his children. John had named his son after the man. A single tear escaped and slipped down his cheek. Thankfully no one saw it, but John didn’t bother to wipe it away.

Carson sat back on his heels. John looked up at him. “No. You can’t stop.” Carson looked up at his friend with a sad look on his face. “I’m sorry, John. I can’t get his heart started. I have to call it.”

“No. One more time, damn it!” Carson nodded and tried one more time to get Evan’s heart started. Suddenly there was a heartbeat. It only lasted a couple of beats, but it was enough to renew Carson’s faith that the man could be saved.

“I want it as high as it can go!” The nurse cranked up the electricity that was being pumped through the paddles. Carson used them once more. Evan’s heart started again and stopped after a few beats. “Again!”

Carson used the paddles. And again. He used them until he could finally get Evan’s heartbeat to last more than a few beats. “He’s stabilizing. Quick! Let’s get him on the gurney and back to the infirmary before we lose him again.”

John got out of the way as they put Evan onto the gurney and raced him to the infirmary. He was about to follow, and then remembered his brother lying unconscious on the floor. Ronon looked at John. “Don’t worry about him. Go. I’ve got him.”

John looked up at Ronon and nodded. He ran after the med team and caught up with them. He followed them to the infirmary. He knew the procedure and went to the waiting room. When he got there, Nikki and Kira were there already.

As John walked in, they both looked up at him. Nikki jumped up and ran to his side. She noticed all the blood that he was covered in and the look on his face. All he could manage to do was pull her into his arms and bury his face into her shoulder.

He didn’t cry, but he needed the connection right now.

They let him open up on his own and waited for him to tell them what had happened. He let go of Nikki after a few minutes and looked at her. “It’s Lorne. Dave got drunk and got into a fight with Evan. Dave surprised him and knocked him out before we got there. I tried to get him to calm down, but he wouldn’t have it. Then he freaked out and…he stabbed Evan. I slammed him into the wall before he could put the knife where he wanted to. He had aimed for Evan’s chest, but when I slammed into him, it knocked the knife out of his hand and went into his stomach.

Ronon took Dave from me and applied pressure to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. He regained consciousness and told me…told me if anything happened to tell Kira that he loves her.” He looked at Kira. “I told him he can tell you himself, but he made me tell you anyway. I kept trying to get him to keep fighting, to hold on. But then his heart stopped beating. Dave passed out and Ronon took over applying pressure for me while I did compressions. And then he stopped breathing. I did CPR for…I don’t know how long before Beckett got there.”

He turned around and ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know how many times I watched Beckett try to revive him. But then he stopped. He said he had to call it.” Kira gasped, but John kept going. “I wouldn’t let him stop. I told him he had to try one more time. And he did. And then his heart started beating. It stopped after a couple of beats, but Carson wouldn’t give up. He kept trying to get it stabilized, get it beating for more than a few beats. And then, finally, it did. They got him on the gurney and took him to surgery.”

They all stayed quiet as John tried desperately not to let them know just how much it had affected him. He wanted to be alone so he could wrangle in his emotions, but he didn’t dare leave the waiting room in case there was news he would miss otherwise.

Nikki walked around him and saw that he had closed his eyes to try to get a handle on himself. “John, are you okay?” He opened his eyes and looked at her. She saw fear, worry, sadness, and frustration. She pulled him into her arms and held him while he tried to regain some composure. She knew it must have been hard for him to sit there and watch his friend die and then come back. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through.

“Where are the twins?” “Don’t worry about them, John. They’re with Becca in our quarters.” He nodded and held onto her tightly.

Ronon walked into the waiting room with Teyla and Rodney. Ronon hadn’t cleaned the blood off his hands yet and he noticed that neither had Sheppard.

John looked up as the three entered. “Dave?” Ronon nodded. “He’s fine. Isolation room with some marines.” John nodded. He would go see his brother as soon as he found out if Lorne would be okay or not.

They all sat down in the chairs and waited for news on their friend. It took a couple of hours, but eventually Carson walked out of surgery. He immediately went for the waiting room, knowing there would be people there who needed answers.

He walked into the waiting room and found Rodney, Ronon, Teyla, Kira, Nikki, and John all waiting for the news. They all got up as he entered. “I have some good news. He’s going to be just fine after he gets some rest. He did excellent in surgery. We gave him transfusions to help with the blood loss. I’d have to say that they only reason he’s alive is because of the Colonel and Ronon. If you two hadn’t kept as much pressure on the wound as you did and did CPR, I highly doubt he’d be with us right now. Let alone the fact that you, John, wouldn’t let me stop defibrillating him. That alone saved his life.”

John pretended he didn’t hear the credit the doctor was giving him. “When can we see him?”

Carson smiled. “They’re bringing him out of surgery now. You can go in when they get him settled, but he needs his rest.”

They nodded and waited until the nurses got Evan settled in the infirmary before they went in to see him. He was just starting to wake up when they walked in. He looked up as Kira ran to his side and grabbed his hand. “Hey there, babe. How are you feeling?” He smiled at her. “Tired.”

She smiled and nodded. “That’s understandable. You went through a lot.” He looked around the room at his friends who were gathered around his bed. He noticed the blood on Ronon’s hands and then noticed that John was covered in even more blood. He assumed it was his by the look on John’s face and the fact that John wasn’t in a bed himself.

Evan met John’s eye and instantly knew he was upset. He couldn’t remember what had happened, but knew it had affected John in some way. Before he could say anything, John reached his hand up to his com. “Sheppard.”

“Sir, Mr. Sheppard is awake and requesting to see you. He’s also requesting that we undo the restraints. He seems to be sober now.”

“I don’t care if he seems to be sober or not. You are not to undo the restraints, that’s an order. I don’t care if he begs you. I’m on my way. Sheppard out.” He turned around and left the infirmary without another word.

Nikki was about to go after him, but Ronon stopped her. “I’ll go.” She nodded and watched as Ronon jogged out of the room to catch up to Sheppard.

Nikki looked back at Evan when he started talking. “Is everything okay?” She moved closer to the bed and looked down at him. “Do you remember anything about what happened to you?”

He thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head. “No, I don’t remember anything.”

“Dave got drunk and the two of you got into a fight. He knocked you out before John and Ronon could get there. He had a knife and John tried to get him to calm down, but he was too drunk. When he went to stab you, John slammed him into a wall. He was able to stop it from going where Dave had aimed, but it went into your stomach. Ronon held Dave while John tried to stop the bleeding. He said you regained consciousness for a short time and was talking to him before you lost consciousness again.”

Kira looked at him. “He told us that your heart stopped beating. He had Ronon apply pressure while he did compressions, and then CPR when you stopped breathing. He watched you die.”

Carson nodded. “Aye, it hit the man hard. We got there as soon as we could. I don’t know how many times we used the defibrillator on you, lad, but it wasn’t working. I was calling it, but John wouldn’t let me. He demanded that I try one more time, so I did. I didn’t think it would work, but your heart started again. Only for a second, but it did. I kept trying until I got your heart stabilized and then we moved you onto a gurney and took you into surgery. The look on the Colonel’s face was enough to break your heart when I couldn’t get your heart started.”

Evan nodded letting everything they had just told him sink in. He vaguely remembered waking up and talking to John about something. He assumed that was when he had regained consciousness.

Carson’s com activated. “This is Colonel Sheppard. We need a med team in the isolation room!”

“For the love of God! What on Earth could have happened now?” He ran to get his med kit and the nurses readied the gurney. Nikki looked at him. “What’s going on, Carson?”

“The Colonel just radioed in a medical emergency in the isolation room. I’m guessing something happened to Dave. Looks like he’s just not having a good day.”

Carson ran out of the infirmary with his med team followed by Nikki and Teyla. When they reached the isolation room, they ran in and saw Dave convulsing on the floor and John holding him, trying not to let him hurt himself. He looked up as they walked in. “I don’t know what happened! We were just talking and he started to convulse.”

Carson moved to his side. He ordered the med team to get him on the gurney. They strapped him down so that he wouldn’t roll off and headed for the infirmary. John got up and quickly followed them. Teyla and Nikki looked at each other and then at Ronon.

Nikki walked up to him. “What happened?” He looked at her. “Just as Shep said. They were just talking. Sheppard released him from his restraints after he convinced him it was safe. A minute later, he collapsed.” Nikki nodded and turned and looked at Teyla. “We better get back to the infirmary.” Teyla nodded and they headed back.

Rodney, Kira, and Evan watched as the med team rushed a convulsing Dave through the infirmary on a gurney. John walked in after them and watched them roll his brother into the other room. He had had just about enough. He didn’t know if he could take anything more.

His head started to spin and he sat down on the nearest chair. He put his head in his hands and just sat there, waiting for the room to stop spinning. Nikki walked in and saw John. She moved to his side.

“John, are you okay?” He just sat there, not moving. She was getting worried. “John?” “Just give me a minute. Everything’s spinning at the moment.”

She nodded and started to rub his back the way he did when she was upset. Evan was watching John to make sure he was okay. He was worried about his friend just as he had been worried about him not too long ago.

It took John a few minutes for his head to stop spinning. He opened his eyes and looked up at Nikki. “What the hell is going on?” She frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know, John. We need to tell Elizabeth though.” He nodded and reached up to hit his com.

“Dr. Weir, this is Sheppard. Please come in.” “What is it, John?”

He took a deep breath. “You may want to get down to the infirmary, Elizabeth. There are some things we need to fill you in on.”

**SGA**

Evan had fallen asleep not that long ago. The exhaustion from everything had finally won over his body. John had refused to go back to his quarters to rest until he had answers about what made his brother act out like that.

Dr. Beckett had sent everyone except John, Nikki, and Kira out of the infirmary to create some more space. Carson could see how tired the Colonel was, but he just wouldn’t leave. He had told the man that if he was going to stay in the infirmary, then he would lay on one of the beds and get some rest until Dave woke up. Reluctantly, he had agreed.

There wasn’t much else for him to do, so he had given in. He had chosen the bed next to Evan’s to make sure he was close in case the man needed anything.

 John had made Carson promise to wake him as soon as anything happened or if he got the test results back from the tests he ran on Dave.

After a few hours of sleep, Carson woke John up. He had found something curious in Dave’s tests. John sat up and looked around the room. Evan was still asleep, as was Dave. Kira had fallen asleep holding Evan’s hand and Nikki had passed out in a chair next to the bed John had laid on.

He looked up at Carson. “I’m guessing you got the results back since everyone else is asleep?”

“Aye, I did. I found something odd in Dave’s blood. There were traces of a drug that has the same signs of being drunk without having any alcohol in the system. The drug takes anything negative on your mind and twists it, making you violent. Whoever uses the drug, has no idea what they’re doing though. They can access information from their brain, such as names, locations, that sort of stuff, but they won’t remember anything when the drug leaves their system.”

John nodded slowly, letting that sink in. “So…then how did the drug get into his system?”

Carson sighed. “Well, that’s the tricky part. Personally, I can’t see your brother willingly taking a drug of this sort or any drug for that matter. My best guess is that someone drugged him.”

John swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up. He hit his com. “Sheppard to McKay and Ronon. I need you both in the infirmary as soon as possible. Sheppard out.”

“We need to get to the bottom of this, Doc, before this becomes a habit.” “Aye, we do. If Dave had received any higher of a dosage, he wouldn’t have survived. You need to find out who is responsible. And quickly.”

John nodded and waited for Rodney and Ronon to get there. Once they did, he filled them in on what was going on. “Rodney, is there any way you can tap into some camera and follow Dave’s movements from earlier today?”

He nodded and grabbed his data pad. It took him a few minutes to reconfigure a few things, but he found the video from Dave’s quarters. They watched as Becca made coffee, woke the kids, made breakfast, went about her day. Everyone left the quarters to go about their day. Then suddenly someone entered the room. “There! Can you get a lock on their face?”

Rodney tapped a few buttons and waited until the person turned enough towards the camera to get a look at their face. It was Lt. Gordon. “Lt. Gordon?” John wracked his brain to figure out why he would do something like that. They had watched as Gordon slipped some powder into the coffee pot and into various other items, ensuring that it would be effective.

“Rodney, can you locate him?” He nodded and exited out of the video feed. He brought up the city’s sensors and configured them to track down specific people. “There. He’s in his quarters.”

John nodded. “Okay, McKay, you stay here and let us know if he moves.” Rodney nodded and sat down on a stool. John walked over to Kira and shook her awake. She looked up at him.

“We just got a lead as to why this whole thing went down. I need you to help us bring in the bad guy.” She smiled and nodded. They left the infirmary and headed to Lt. Gordon’s quarters. They were halfway there when Sheppard’s com activated. “Sheppard. It’s McKay. He’s moving.”

“Where to?” There was silence for a few moments. “McKay!” “Hang on. He’s going down a hallway…let me…zoom out for a wider angle…just tweak the sensors just a tad. Hah! Oh. He’s heading to the mess hall!” “Understood. Sheppard out.”

John looked at Ronon and Kira. “He’s heading to the mess hall.” He reached up and hit his com. “Becca, this is John. Please respond.” After a moment, her groggy voice came over the com. “Yes, John?”

“Do not eat or drink anything in your quarters. Is that clear? Don’t let the kids either. I’ll explain everything later, but for your safety, get out of there.” “I stayed in your quarters last night to watch the twins. The kids stayed with some friends last night. The only one in there should be Dave.”

John rounded the corner into the hallway that would take them to the mess hall. “Actually, Dave is in the infirmary. I didn’t want to worry you since it wasn’t life threatening. He’s fine. I’ll explain later. Sheppard out.”

They entered the mess hall and found Gordon walking over to the kitchen door. “Stop right there, Gordon!” Everyone in the mess hall froze and turned to look at the three of them. John had pulled out his side-arm and was pointing it at Gordon so he didn’t run. “Turn around and put your hands up. Now.”

Gordon slowly turned around and put his hands into the air. “What is this about, Colonel?”

John narrowed his eyes. “You know exactly what this is about. We saw the footage of you slipping drugs into Dave Sheppard’s quarters. You drugged him and Major Lorne was almost killed because of it. Do you have anything to say about that?”

A smile split across Gordon’s face. “Oh, that. That was just a little bit of fun. Well, fun and revenge, really.” John’s brow furrowed. “Revenge for what?”

Gordon started laughing and looked John straight in the eye. “Do you not remember the first time we met when you made my time here on Atlantis a living hell because of that whore? No one can say anything about the precious Nicole Teagan unless it’s the infamous John Sheppard, right? I was just having a little bit of fun is all.”

“Fun? You got into a fight with her brother because you were telling him all of the perverted things you wanted to do with her. I simply put you on suspension for two weeks for sexual harassment.”

Gordon nodded. “Man, if I could do all the things I wanted to do to her…Of course, now I wouldn’t because who would want your sloppy seconds? I mean…especially now after she’s had two kids for crying out loud! No one wants that.”

John took a step towards him. “I advise you to shut the hell up before I blast your brains all over the wall.” Kira stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm. “Colonel. I want to kill him as much as you do, but we have to turn him over to the SGC.”

Ronon grunted. “Nah, let’s just shoot him now.” John stared into Gordon’s eyes. “Major, bind his hands. You and Ronon take him to the brig. I’ll contact the SGC and they can come get him. Do whatever the hell they want with him.”

He put his gun away and walked out of the mess hall while Kira bound his hands behind his back. He let Elizabeth know what had happened and asked her to contact the SGC. He was headed for the infirmary.

When he walked in, everyone was awake. He was still pissed from what Gordon had said. Rodney’s head snapped in his direction. “You get him?” John nodded. “Kira and Ronon are taking him to the brig now. The SGC is going to send a team to come get him.” Rodney nodded.

Dave looked up at John with a sad look on his face. “Can we talk, John?”

He nodded and moved over to the side of the bed. “They told me what happened…what I did. I’m still in shock, to tell you the truth. I am so sorry, John. I can’t believe I said or did any of that.”

John nodded and looked down at his hands. “It’s okay, Dave. It’s not your fault.” Dave shook his head. “It might not be my fault, but it’s not okay. That man, your friend, he almost died. He did die for a brief time. And that was because of me. If it hadn’t have been for you, he wouldn’t have survived. So…I guess what I want to say is…I’m sorry, and thank you.”

John looked up at his brother. “Why are you thanking me?” “Because you saved that man’s life. If you hadn’t have been there, he would be dead right now because of me and I couldn’t live with myself if that had happened.” John and Dave just looked at each other for a few minutes.

Evan sat on the next bed over, secretly watching and listening to their exchange. He was still worried about his friend and still wanted to talk to him about what had happened.

John nodded. “You’re my brother, Dave. I’ll always be there to clean up your messes.” Dave chuckled and nodded. “That’s what happens when you’re the commanding officer.”

John smiled and shook his head. “Yeah, at least I’m not the commanding officer’s brother. I heard that job sucks.” Dave started laughing and shook his head. “It has its perks. Hey, I get free housing, education for my kids, a whole new culture, free medical help, free food. I’m just basking in the free stuff over here.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at his brother. They were back on a joking basis and that was good. “I’ll let you rest. Someone your age needs their rest.” Dave chuckled. “Laugh it up, tough guy. You’re getting pretty old yourself!”

John smiled and moved away from the bed. Nikki looked up at him and smiled. “Feeling better?” He looked at her and gave her a small smile. “A little bit.”

She nodded. “Good. I’m going to go check on the twins. I’ll see you later?” He nodded and watched her leave. Rodney piped up. “I think I should leave too. I have some work to do. With Jennifer on Earth for a few days, I have a lot of stuff to catch up on.”

John nodded and watched the man hurry out of the infirmary. He chuckled at McKay’s awkwardness. “John?” He took the seat that Kira had been sitting in earlier that morning. He had a feeling that Evan wanted to talk.

“Yeah, Evan?” Evan looked down at his hands, slightly uncomfortable. “They told me what happened. How you were there through the whole thing. How you watched me die.”

Evan looked up and his eyes locked with John’s. “I know it wasn’t easy for you. Especially by the look on your face when I came out of surgery. After some time, I remembered our conversation before…before I went unconscious.”

John nodded, he didn’t really know what to say. “I wanted to thank you for being there for me. Hell, you saved my life.” John gave the man a small smile. “You don’t have to thank me. We’re family. That’s what we do.”

Evan smiled when John said they were family. “Family, huh?” “Well yeah. Evan, you delivered my children. I named my son after you. Hell, you’re practically my second brother. You’ve had my six ever since I met you and I’ve had yours. Over the past year, we’ve become more than just co-workers and commanding officers. You became one of my best friends and one of the only people I feel comfortable being completely honest with. Feel honored. There’s not many people that get the honor of having the closed book John Sheppard open up to them.”

Evan laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I don’t mean to bring down the testosterone level in the room or anything, but I’ve never had a brother I can confide in. But now I do. And I feel honored that it’s you.” John blushed slightly and looked down at his hands.

Carson was listening to the entire conversation from a little ways away. He was smiling at the two close-mouthed men opening up to each other.

John smiled and looked up at Lorne. “Just do me a favor.” Evan nodded. “Never do that to me again.” Lorne started laughing and nodded his head. “I’ll do the best I can. Under one condition.”

“Oh really? What’s that?” “That you don’t either. Trouble seems to follow both of us around like a magnet. I’ve got your six. You got mine?”

The smile on John’s face widened and he stuck out his hand in Lorne’s direction. Evan accepted it and they shook on it. “You’re got yourself a deal, Evan.”


	3. IOA Stands For Trouble

**Chapter 3**

“Unscheduled gate activation!” The chevrons locked into place as Dr. Weir ran from her office into the control room. “IDC?”

Amelia looked down at her laptop and nodded. “It’s the SGC, ma’am. And they’re requested we lower the shield.”

Elizabeth nodded, “Do it.” The shield was lowered and a minute later General Landry, General O’Neill, and half of the IOA came through the gate. Elizabeth’s gut instinct told her that this was not a friendly visit.

She met the met down in the gate room. “Welcome to Atlantis. What do I owe the honor of this visit?”

O’Neill smiled. “Nice to see you too, Weir. Now, mind you, I had nothing to do with this. I even tried to stop it. We should go to the conference room and talk.”

Elizabeth nodded and started to move towards the conference room before General Landry stopped her. “Would you also have Dr. Nikki Teagan report to the conference room? She’s the reason why we’re here.” Dr. Weir nodded and made the call as they moved into the conference room.

**SGA**

Colonel Sheppard, Ronon, Kira, and McKay walked through the gate and back into the gate room on Atlantis. They had just returned from a routine mission that had gone exactly as planned for once. No one was injured, there had been no violence, no running for their lives. Everything had been as they’d planned it.

Though as they stepped through the gate, John’s spidey senses started to tingle. He looked at Ronon with his brow furrowed. “Does something seem off to you?”

Ronon shook his head. His senses weren’t picking it up yet. And that’s when Jessie came running down the stairs into the gate room. “Dad! You’re back!” John turned to look at her and smiled. The smile quickly disappeared when he saw her panicked expression. “Jess, what’s going on?” “It’s Nikki. General Landry, General O’Neill, and some guys I don’t know are here and called a meeting. They dismissed her about half an hour ago. Dad, they fired her. They’re sending her back to Earth.”

John couldn’t believe he was hearing. “Fired her?! They can’t do that! Where is she?” “She’s in our quarters. She’s really upset.”

John nodded and turned to his team. “Go get your check-ups done. I’ll be in my quarters.”

He ran off with Jessie right behind him. They ran the distance from the gate room to their quarters as fast as they could. Jessie did her best to keep up with him. They walked in and John immediately went for their bedroom.

He found Nikki sitting on the bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking. He moved over to her and sat down, putting his arms around her and pulling her into him. “What happened?”

Nikki shook her head. “The IOA decided that they don’t want me here. They said…they said it was because of my “condition”. Pompous assholes. Elizabeth was furious when they told us why they’re here. They said I have two hours to get packed before we leave. They said I’m never coming back.”

John shook his head and pulled her in tighter. “They can’t do this. This is ridiculous. Teyla was pregnant and they didn’t do anything about her being here. It’s probably because I pissed them off at that damn meeting. They can’t do this. They won’t.” He stood up and started towards the door. “John, what are you going to do?” He turned back towards her. “I’m going to give them a piece of my mind and make them reconsider. You’re an invaluable member of this expedition and they’d be idiots to take you away.”

He left the bedroom and looked at Jessie. “Stay with her. I don’t want her to be alone right now.” Jessie nodded and watched him storm out the door.

John walked into the control room and found Elizabeth standing there. She had just left the conference room. “Elizabeth. They can’t do this.” Dr. Weir looked up as he approached. “I know you’re angry, John, but there’s nothing we can do. It’s out of our hands. They’ve already made their decision.”

“No, I won’t accept that. They can’t just fire her because she’s pregnant. That’s not right. That’s discriminating. And plus, they didn’t do anything when Teyla was pregnant.”

“John, that’s because Teyla isn’t from Earth. I know it’s wrong, but they’re unrelenting. O’Neill and I tried to get them to change their minds, but they won’t.”

“I haven’t gotten a chance to tell them what I think of this yet. There’s still hope.”

John moved past her and towards the conference room. “John, wait!” He ignored her and continued towards the conference room.

Evan, Kira, Alex, Ronon, Teyla, McKay, Jennifer, and Carson all walked into the control room at that moment and made their way towards Elizabeth. Evan got there first. “Is it true? Did they fire her?”

Dr. Weir turned towards them and nodded sadly. “Yes, their reason was because she’s pregnant. John just went in there to give them a piece of his mind. It won’t end well.”

Evan shook his head. “They can’t do that. I’m going in there too.” The rest of them nodded as they headed towards the conference room. Elizabeth sighed and followed suit.

John walked into the conference room and glared at every one of the IOA members. “You have no right to fire her. You can’t do that.”

The leader of the IOA, Carl Strom, looked up at John. “Colonel Sheppard. Nice to see you again. And yes, I can fire her. And I did.”

“That’s wrong and you know it. There’s no reason for it.” “Actually, there is. You see, she seduced the Commanding Military Officer of this base, became pregnant with his children, and is put in danger every second she’s here. You’d think as the father of her children, you’d have their safety in mind.”

John ground his teeth together. “She didn’t seduce me. We’re getting married. And yes, I do have their safety in mind. Along with the safety of everyone in this city. They are safest here with me. If you remember correctly, they were put in serious danger while on Earth when she was kidnapped and drugged. What makes you think that taking her back to Earth will keep them safe?”

Strom smiled. “The only reason they were put into that danger was because of you. If I recall correctly, it was your ex-wife who attacked her and your sister-in-law.”

Evan and the rest of the group walked into the conference room and stood in a line behind John acting as his back-up. John noticed them come in, but he didn’t turn his attention away from Strom.

“And if you remember correctly, I was the one who rescued her along with my team. My team and everyone in this city look after one another. When someone’s in danger, we help. When someone’s been kidnapped, we save them. When someone’s in critical condition, our doctors do the best they can. We have the best doctors here in two galaxies and you know that. We have the best military, the best doctors, and the best scientists working together here. Sure, this galaxy is dangerous. But so is the Milky Way.”

Strom smiled once more. “How many times do you hear of someone getting fed on by a Wraith in the Milky Way? Or dying from the Hoffen disease?”

Carson jumped into the conversation. “And while we’re at it, what about the bloody plague? Cancer? Lymphoma? Parkinson’s disease? Leukemia? There are less diseases out here than on Earth. Sure, we have the Wraith, but on Earth there’s crime, the goa’uld. They’re just as bad as the Wraith.”

It was Kira’s turn to jump into the conversation. “She has family here. She’s starting a family here. Everyone on Atlantis is part of one big family. And you’re always safest with family.”

Strom shook his head. “It’s already been decided. Go back to your duties. There’s nothing that can be done. It’s over.”

John shook his head. “If you fire her and take her back to Earth, then make room for one more. Because I quit.” He turned and walked out of the room with Strom yelling after him. “If you quit, Sheppard, I’ll have you court marshaled!” John yelled back over his shoulder, “Do whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Strom shook his head in disbelief. “What an idiot. Quitting over some dame. Ignorance, I swear.”

Evan shook his head. “He didn’t quit over some “dame”. He quit because of the unfairness of this. He quit because you’re firing his fiancée, the mother of his children, and the love of his life over something incredibly stupid and discriminatory.”

“I thought you’d be happy that he quit, Major Lorne. That means you just became top dog around here.”

Lorne shook his head again. “No, I didn’t. That man is my friend, my family. I quit too.”

Lorne turned and walked out of the conference room and went in search of Sheppard. Strom’s mouth dropped. Both of the commanding officers just quit over some pregnant chick.

Kira shook her head in disgust. “I don’t want to be a part of anything this ignorant and unfair. I quit too.” Alex nodded. “Firing my sister is probably the stupidest thing you’ve done in a while. I’m done too.” Teyla looked from each of the IOA members to the next. “I fear you have just made a grave mistake. I will be returning to my people and they will no longer be your allies. We do not wish to be allies with those who are as ignorant as this. And I’m sure most of our allies will recall their alliance as well. I wish you good luck in this galaxy.”

Teyla turned and followed Alex and Kira out of the room. She had bluffed slightly about recalling their alliance. She would still give assistance to Elizabeth when she would need it. She would be sure to let her know before she left.

Ronon glared at Strom. “You’ve just made a big mistake. Sheppard is the one you want out there fighting the Wraith along with Lorne and the rest. And now they quit. I’m done too. I’ll be staying with the Athosians. Don’t ever ask for my help.”

He turned and left as well. They were all heading to John, Nikki, and Jessie’s quarters. Kind of like one last time as a group.

Strom turned to look at McKay, Keller, Beckett and Elizabeth. “Well, we still have some of our senior staff. We’ll just have to replace them.”

Rodney shook his head. “You’ll have to replace me too. And I’m the best for the job so that’ll be impossible. Your damn mission has failed because of your stupidity.” Rodney left before he could say anything really stupid. Jennifer started to follow him, but turned back to say something.

“You know, you really are something else. The entire senior staff just quit. How about you get over yourself before it’s too late to do a damn thing about it and this galaxy is screwed.” She turned and ran after Rodney.

Carson and Elizabeth looked at each other before turning back to Strom. Carson folded his arms over his chest before he spoke. “You see what just happened? You get rid of one person and the entire mission falls apart. Nikki Teagan is an invaluable part of this mission, pregnant or not. She has contributed a great deal to this expedition. Between her work and her personal life, she has thrived here, as have we all. She has made the, well, now ex-Commanding Military Officer of this expedition the happiest he has ever been and that alone has increased his performance rate. Because of her, he has something to come home to when he goes off-world. He has a reason to come back. That alone raises the chances he’ll come back alive and safe. He doesn’t take as many life-threatening risks as he used to. And because of that, this city and the inhabitants of this galaxy are that much closer to being rid of the Wraith. If you want to defeat the Wraith once and for all, you need Colonel John Sheppard and his team. John, Ronon, Teyla, Kira, Evan…hell, even Rodney are a major reason why this city is still standing today. They have all saved the day more than once and with them all gone, who will be here to save the city? Let alone the Pegasus galaxy? I think you need to rethink your decision before it’s too late and lots of people die.”

Elizabeth nodded. “If they die, their blood is on your hands. Not mine, not Dr. Beckett’s. Yours. And all because you fired someone just because you didn’t like the fact that they’re pregnant and not married yet. Which, by the way, the wedding was scheduled to be in a month. If I were you, I’d change my decision before more of the city decides to leave. A good number of people who came to live in this city came because of those people that just quit. They leave, so do all the people that came here for them. Soon, the city’s numbers will dwindle, morale will drop to dangerous levels, people will start to get killed. And you can prevent that from happened. All you have to do is not fire someone. I don’t see what the damn problem is.”

Elizabeth turned to leave. “Oh, and by the way, if my entire senior staff leaves, so do I.”

Carson and Elizabeth left the conference room. They heard O’Neill’s comment right before they got out of earshot. “Well, that was productive. We managed to lose eleven people. No, make that twelve with Jessie. And more once the word spreads. Nice job, Carl. Couldn’t have done it any better myself.”

They made their way to John’s quarters. Elizabeth rang the chime and the doors opened. Everyone had met up there after leaving the conference room. They walked in and found seats.

John looked over at Elizabeth from his place on the couch in between Nikki and Jessie. “So, what happened?”

“Well, Carson gave Strom an ear full, I backed it up, and then we left. Strom’s not very happy with everyone quitting, including myself.”

Nikki’s head snapped in her direction. “You quit too?” Elizabeth nodded. “With the entire senior staff gone, the entire place will go to hell. The Wraith will most likely hear about what happened somehow and they’ll take advantage of the weakness. I don’t want to stick around and watch the city crumble. There’s nothing more I can do with everyone leaving. I wouldn’t want to be here without any of you anyway.”

They all smiled and started to tell stories about their time on Atlantis. Some good, some bad, most of them funny and slightly exaggerated. They wanted to make the most of their last time all together. If Strom didn’t change his mind, this would be the last time they would ever see Teyla and Ronon and probably the last time the rest of them would be able to all get together at the same time.

“Hey, Shep. Remember that time when you were teaching Nikki how to fly the jumper and she almost crashed into one of the towers?”

“I did not almost crash into one of the towers! I told you…the steering was malfunctioning.” John laughed and shook his head. “Of course, it was malfunctioning. It was screwed up so bad Rodney couldn’t find anything wrong with it.” She stuck out her tongue at him, but started to laugh right along with everyone else. “Okay, how about the time when you walked into that wall in front of a group of marines?”

John’s laughter stopped. “That was after a very long and tiring mission! I was exhausted and sleep-deprived. I had a good excuse.” Nikki shook her head and smiled at him. “Uh huh, sure, John.”

John rolled his eyes. “And then there’s the time that Teyla, McKay, and Ronon decided to lock us in a room together. Don’t forget about that.” Everyone turned to look at the three. Ronon grinned widely, McKay blushed, and Teyla rolled her eyes.

Ronon spoke first. “Yeah, well, it was for your own good. Both of you.” John leaned forward. “Oh, and was tapping into the video system and eavesdropping also for our own good?” Ronon’s smile vanished, McKay’s blush deepened and Teyla’s mouth opened.

“John, how do you know about that?” John shrugged. “I got it out of McKay that night.”

They all turned and looked at Rodney. “What? He’s very persuasive when he wants to be…” John chuckled while Ronon hit him upside the head like he’d watched John do several times. “Ow! What was that for?”

“For telling him what you promised not to tell him.” “Well, I’m sorry, but he would have found out anyway! I don’t know how…but he always finds out. He’s weird like that.”

“I’m weird? Thanks, McKay.” He looked at the three of them. “What I said that day, about you three being family to me, I meant it. You will always be family to me, no matter what happens today.” He looked at Ronon and Teyla. “If we never see each other again, that won’t change your place in this family. Nothing will.”

Teyla smiled. “As with your place in our family, John.” John smiled as well. He looked from each person to the next, locking eyes for a moment with everyone. Everyone was there. As he talked, he made eye contact with each person he spoke to. “You all have earned a special place in this family. Each of you in your own little ways. Alex, soon to be my brother-in-law, you’re one of the funniest men I have ever met. Kira, my soon to be sister-in-law, you’re a fierce soldier, a caring sister, and a wonderful person. Rodney, you drive me nuts, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re unique and bring someone special to this team. Jennifer, you care a lot for others and that’s what makes you special. I trust you with my life, with my children’s lives and with my family’s lives. Carson,…well, I’d say since I first met you, but that first time we met, you fired a drone at me and nearly killed me. So, since we started working together, I’ve looked up to you and admired you. I’ve never respected anyone as much as I respect you.” Carson blushed as John turned to look at Elizabeth next.

“Elizabeth, you’re the best leader that this expedition could possibly have. You’re admirable and respectable. I can’t imagine life here without you. Ronon, buddy, you’ve had my back since that first mission we went on together. Sure, you tried to kill me a couple times, and you kidnapped me the first time we met…but you’ve become one of my best friends. And I’m going to deeply miss having you around. Teyla, I’m not quite sure what to say. You’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met, the fiercest leader, and the bravest soldier I’ve had the pleasure and honor to know. You’re the sister I never had and I know that our paths will cross again, just like they did the last time we had to say good-bye.” Teyla nodded. “I’m sure they will, John. I have hope for all of us.” John smiled and turned to Evan.

“Evan, you’re the best second in command I could ask for. You don’t question my orders or look down on anyone. Those are qualities of amazing leaders. You’re also my brother and my best friend. I couldn’t ask for anyone better for the job. Jess, I’m so glad you found me. I can’t imagine spending more time without you and getting to know the beautiful and wonderful young woman that you are.” Jess smiled as her eyes filled with tears.

John finally turned and looked at Nikki. “You’re the mother of my children and the love of my life. I would do anything for you. No matter the cost. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” Nikki’s eyes filled with tears as well.

John turned back to look at everyone in their family. “I want to thank every one of you for everything you did today. None of you had to do what you did, but I appreciate it. It means a lot that you would all sacrifice your jobs, your lives, for any member of this family. We’ve all proven it time and time again and today just proved it even more. Just…thank you.”

No one knew what to say. They were speechless. This was the first time John had made a speech like that and it had taken them all by surprise. It was out of character for him, but none of them minded.

He was about to say something else when his com activated. “Colonel Sheppard, this is the control room, please come in.”

He sighed and lifted his hand to his com. “Sheppard here.”

“Sir, General O’Neill is requesting that you return to the conference room. And he said for you to come alone.” “I’ll be right there. Sheppard out.”

He looked around the room and then back at Nikki. “Well, it looks like it’s the moment of truth. O’Neill wants to see me in the conference room. Alone.”

Nikki nodded. “Whatever happens, John, I love you and it’s going to be okay.” John smiled and nodded. “Funny, I was just about to say the same for you.” He kissed her and stood up. He moved towards the door before turning and saying, “I’ll be back to let everyone know if we should celebrate or start packing.”

John left the room and made his way to the conference room. He wasn’t sure at all what to expect. He walked in to find only General O’Neill there. The rest of the group had left.

“Colonel Sheppard. Quite the scene you and your staff put on earlier.”

He nodded. “Yes, sir.” The General’s face was blank, so John couldn’t tell if the news was good or bad. “I called you hear to tell you the IOA’s decision. I thought it would be best done in private without the rest of the group around.”

**SGA**

Rodney had started to pace. John had been gone for an entire hour. “Where the hell is he? He’s been gone forever!” They were all starting to get antsy. Kira and Jessie had fixed everyone some coffee and hot chocolate. They had maintained some small talk, swapping more stories, trying to get their minds off of John’s absence and the reason behind it.

Evan rubbed his hands over his face. “I’m sure he’ll be back soon. The meeting can’t take that long.”

Alex kept fidgeting and playing with things around him, whether it be his cup, his hands, the chair. He was trying to keep his mind busy, but not having much luck. None of them were.

About ten minutes later, the doors opened and John walked in. Everyone turned and looked to see his expression, but his face was blank so no one could get a read on him.

Rodney stared at him incredulously, “So? What’s the verdict? Are we all goners? Replaced? Do we have to go pack? Will we ever see the city again?”

Jennifer interrupted his rant. “Rodney, calm down. Sit. Let him talk.”

Rodney stopped talking, but he didn’t sit down. He was too nervous to sit. They all continued to stare at John. “General O’Neill called me into the conference room to let me know what Stroma decided. He said General Landry and himself could barely get a word in with all of his ranting and raving. There wasn’t much for him to do, he said.”

Rodney shook his head. “I can’t believe it. He’s sending us away. He’s actually doing it. I’m going to be sent back to Area 51. I don’t want to go back there. I hated it there. I’ll quit. Work on my own stuff. I won’t go back there.”

John stepped towards Rodney. “McKay, will you just shut up for a minute so I can tell you what’s going on?”

Rodney’s mouth shut and he nodded for John to proceed. John turned to look at everyone, still with a blank expression. He stayed silent for a moment, taking in everyone before he continued.

“Elizabeth, General O’Neill put some files on your desk. Ronon, you need to pick up Amelia in an hour and bring her to the mess hall. Same with you Teyla, with Kanaan and TJ.” They all just looked at him with dumbfounded looks on their faces.

John turned to look at Evan. “From now on, you’ll have a bigger office. We’re moving yours into mine. Jess, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about finding some quarters of your own. Oh, and Nikki? Congratulations on the job promotion.”

Nikki’s mouth dropped. “Promotion?” A smile appeared on John’s face. “Yeah, you’re now the second head of the Science and Research Department here on Atlantis. Oh, and we all have our jobs back. Did I forget to mention that?”

A massive cheer erupted throughout the room as everyone stopped holding their breaths and started to celebrate. Ronon jumped up and ran towards John. He picked him up and spun him around.  “So why are we going to the mess hall, Shep?”

John looked up at his Satedan friend. “We’re having a celebration. For everyone’s newly reinstated jobs. And for family. Oh, and O’Neill is providing the keg.”

Nikki stood and made her way over to John as everyone was hugging each other and laughing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “You did it, John Sheppard. You saved the day once again.”

He smiled. “No, we all did.” He leaned in and kissed her as their friends celebrated around them.


End file.
